case study online travel agency

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Case Study: Should a Hotelier Invest in a New Kind of Online Travel Agency?

• Chekitan S. Dev
• Peter O’Connor

A major brand considers a different strategy.

Lotta Tindal, the chief marketing officer for the Dutch hospitality group Ervaring Hotels & Resorts, hadn’t wanted to come to the presentation, but Gerard Bakker, Ervaring’s CFO, had twisted her arm.

• CD Chekitan S. Dev is a professor of strategic marketing and brand management in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business.
• PO Peter O’Connor is a professor of information systems at ESSEC Business School in Paris.

Partner Center

PhotoADKing

Graphic Design Software For Marketers

The Case Study: Booking.com – Tourism Marketing Strategy

Booking.com, the world’s largest online travel agency, has been using social media as part of its tourism marketing strategy since 2009. The company uses paid and organic tactics to reach its target audience on various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

In recent years, Booking.com has increased its focus on visual content, mainly through Instagram. The company has also used influencers in its tourism marketing strategy to reach new audiences and promote its brand.

Booking.com’s tourism marketing strategy on social media has helped it build a strong presence online and connect with travelers worldwide. The company has also used social media to drive bookings and grow its business.

This case study will look at how the company uses social media to reach and engage customers. In addition, It will also discuss some of the tourism marketing tactics it uses to boost its online presence. 

Additionally, you can create a travel flyer with PhotoADKing that boost tourism marketing easily. 

So, if you’re looking for some inspiration for your social media campaign, be sure to check out this case study!

About Booking.com

Source: Booking

Booking.com is a travel fare aggregator website and travel metasearch engine for lodging reservations. It is owned and operated by Booking Holdings, the largest online travel company globally. The website is available in 43 languages.

Founded in 1996 as Booking.com BV, it was acquired in 2005 by Priceline Group.

Booking.com offers travelers a wide variety of accommodation options, from hotels and apartments to vacation rentals and hostels. Travelers can also find activities, tours, and transportation options on Booking.com and mobile apps.

In 2018, Booking.com was ranked as the second most valuable brand in the travel industry, behind only Expedia Group.

In July 2019, Booking.com had 697 million visits and an 87% rating as a top company in terms of mobile experience.

The Tourism Marketing Strategy Behind Booking.com’s Online Success

Online communities are a great way to connect with your audience and engage them in meaningful ways. In order to keep your followers engaged on social media, you need to use the right tactics.

If there’s one brand that’s mastered this art, it’s Booking.com. In order to build trust and communicate directly with a large international client base, an online travel agency must work hard. With their tourism marketing plan, they focus on the customer while using powerful storytelling techniques. Additionally, if you run a travel agency, a tourist brochure can be a helpful addition to your tourism marketing strategy.

Due to the popularity of its social media accounts, Booking.com’s content strategy is clearly working.

And it’s easy to see why. Each piece of content is well-planned, carefully crafted, and tailored to the audience. No matter what their followers want to see, Booking.com’s marketing team knows what they want and how to deliver it.

Booking.com Tourism Marketing Strategy for Facebook

Source: Facebook

Travel booking website Booking.com has over a billion visitors per year, with a rapidly increasing user base.

One of the keys to their success has been their tourism marketing strategy on social media platforms like Facebook. Through interactive posts, contests, and giveaways, their marketing team engages with users and creates content relevant to their target audience.

Facebook’s Book.com page has more than 15 million fans and extremely high engagement rates. Storytelling can lead to a sense of belonging when people see their company’s values or mission statement through rose-colored glasses.

Some of Booking.com’s Most Successful Tourism Marketing Tactics for Facebook include:

• Creating visually appealing and engaging content is essential for any business, but it is crucial for companies that rely on online bookings, like Booking.com. The company uses high-quality images and videos optimized for different mobile devices to attract users’ attention and encourage them to share the content with others.
• Booking.com’s Facebook page is an excellent example of tourism marketing as it uses visuals to engage potential customers. Pictures of destinations worldwide and videos take you behind the scenes of staying in one of the company’s hotels.
• Encouraging interaction and engagement through contests and giveaways. Booking.com hosts regular online contests to offer users prizes like free hotel stays and flight vouchers. Tourism marketing tactics also encourage people to share their contest entries on Facebook, increasing their chances of winning.
• One unique feature that makes the Booking.com Facebook page stand out is its highly interactive. Booking.com usually replies to users to their comments, often personalizing responses to each user. Interaction in their tourism marketing has earned a loyal following and positioned it as the most customer-focused travel site online.

With its well-rounded travel marketing strategy on Facebook, Booking.com has grown its business significantly, becoming one of the most popular travel booking websites.

Booking.com on Instagram

Source: Instagram

On Instagram, this brand shares all kinds of content related to traveling and exploring new places, be it videos or pictures. The visuals are always immaculate, with just enough editing to bring out the best of each photo or video.

This tourism marketing strategy is very similar to the one used on Facebook, with a mix of content that inspires users to travel and use Bookin.com’s services. However, the brand does make good use of the Instagram platform by utilizing features such as carousels and reels from time to time.

As a whole, Booking.com’s Instagram page is very well managed and provides its followers with great content that stimulates them to explore more of the world.

Booking.com on YouTube

Source: YouTube

One series that will catch our eye is Booking.com’s “Local Guides.” This series features locals from various towns who show off the best places to visit in their hometowns. Each host has a unique story about why their neighborhood is particular and what makes it such a great place to stay. 

What you will love most about these videos is how personal and relatable they feel – it’s like getting travel advice from a friend!

The Most Powerful Tourism Marketing Campaigns of Booking.com

Booking.com is one of the world’s leading online travel agencies, helping millions of travelers daily to find the perfect hotel. But what makes Booking.com so successful?

Booking.com knows how to get people talking when it comes to social media. The travel company has run many successful travel marketing campaigns online, using innovative strategies to engage and promote its brand.

Booking.com has some of the most creative and effective social media campaigns in the industry, reaching a broad audience and driving significant results.

Here are just a few examples of Booking.com’s most successful tourism marketing campaigns:

#BackToTravel

With the early signs of a global slowdown in 2020, many people were worried that they would have to put their travel plans on hold. But Booking.com launched a campaign called #BackToTravel to help people get excited about traveling again and reclaim their love for exploring new places.

This tourism marketing campaign included a co-content created with popular influencers who shared stories of thrilling adventures from all over the world and tips and advice on planning a successful trip. It also featured inspiring content on Instagram highlighting beautiful destinations and must-visit attractions, helping people get back into the travel mindset.

By encouraging people to pick up where they left off before the downturn hit, Booking.com helped millions of travelers worldwide reconnect with the joys of traveling.

#AmericaIsForEveryone

Booking.com launched a new tourism marketing campaign on social media called #AmericaIsForEveryone.

A travel marketing campaign aimed to inspire people across the United States by acknowledging how different cultures and communities worldwide live. The company did this by partnering with various organizations and groups representing different demographics in America.

One example is their partnership with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. This organization works to protect the civil rights of Asian Americans and to advance their community’s civic engagement. Booking.com featured Asian American businesses on their site and shared stories about how these businesses are thriving.

This tourism marketing campaign is just one example of how Booking.com is committed to diversity and inclusion. The company has a long history of supporting various communities around the world. And they continue to find new ways to show their support.

#BookingHero

The #BookingHero, a tourism marketing campaign, is all about bringing people together. Starting from the simple idea that what makes traveling memorable are the people we meet along the way, Booking.com challenged travelers to share their stories and nominate their #BookingHero: an individual who works at their accommodation and goes above and beyond to make their trip unforgettable. 

Whether it’s a bartender who gives stellar travel advice, a hotel concierge who takes you on off-the-radar adventures, or just another guest staying at your hostel who turns out to be your new best friend, no one knows better than travelers themselves what makes a trip worth taking. 

With the #BookingHero tourism marketing campaign, Booking.com recognizes these unsung heroes in the travel industry by highlighting the individuals behind some of the most memorable travel experiences. 

Role of Videos in Their Travel Marketing Campaigns

Booking.com has used videos very creatively in its tourism marketing campaigns as part of its social media marketing strategy, which has helped boost its reach and engagement levels.

Their tourism marketing video campaign features short videos that showcase different destinations worldwide. The videos are meant to inspire audiences to travel. They are highly popular with audiences.

In addition to using video in their various campaigns, Booking.com has also utilized other social media platforms for this tourism marketing to reach out to potential customers. The company has an active presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and they regularly post updates and offers on these platforms.

Overall, Booking.com has successfully used social media to reach new customers and promote its brand. The company’s use of video campaigns has been particularly effective, which is likely to continue.

Marketing Budget of Booking.com

Booking.com is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings Inc.

The company has seen its marketing expenses increase sharply in recent years, reaching 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. This represents an increase of 74 percent over the previous year, after a sharp decline in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Booking.com’s marketing budget is the largest in the travel industry, and they’re constantly innovating marketing strategies to stay ahead of the competition.

Booking.com’s secret to success during this challenging time appears to be its aggressive marketing campaigns and its focus on providing a great customer experience. The company has also been quick to adapt to the changing travel landscape, offering new services such as contactless check-in and virtual tours of hotels.

Booking.com has also focused its tourism marketing strategy on storytelling to compete in this competitive digital space. Though, beyond pricing, room selection, and easy-to-use products, the brand knows that consumers are also looking for a story. 

Therefore, to stand out from the competition, Booking.com has worked to create content that reaches more audiences organically. Moreover, the brand’s social media channels are full of images and videos showing different destinations worldwide. 

And, while other travel brands might provide a list of hotels in a given city, Booking.com goes one step further by suggesting specific experiences and sights that users can enjoy during their stay. In this case, Booking.com has built a strong relationship with its customers by demonstrating the high value it places on their travel experience. 

About Jignesh Kakadiya

Jignesh Kakadiya is an SEO guy. He is interested in a wide range of spheres from graphic design to content marketing and new technologies. If you are interested in graphic design or the SaaS industry, you can find him on Twitter & LinkedIn, or other social media. Read and take over Jignesh’s useful insights!

Understanding the Online Travel Agency Business: Partners, Building Blocks, How to Grow

• 10 min read
• Published: 3 Sep, 2020
• 1 Comment Share

Online travel agencies are among the youngest players in the travel market. Since their appearance in the 90s, they flipped travel distribution, became hotels’ biggest enemies , and changed how people research, plan, and buy their trips. And they’re not planning to stop with new startups emerging every year and massive businesses growing even more. Having worked with numerous travel businesses , we can boast that we know a thing or two about building and growing a successful online travel agency. Here we will talk about the ins and outs of the industry, from increasing your inventory to getting the right technology and staying ahead of the competition. But let’s start with the basics.

What is an Online Travel Agency? How OTAs work

An Online Travel Agency or OTA is a website (or app) specializing in selling travel services to customers. There are OTAs that offer hotel rooms, flights, rental cars, vacation homes, tours, or all of those at the same time. They basically are distributors for hotels, airlines, and tour companies that profit by taking a fee for each sale. Here’s how it works.

Airline and hotel distribution network. White lines indicate user interaction and blue lines show the movement of data

OTAs are intermediaries between customers and service providers. Travelers can go directly to the hotel’s or airline’s website but around  44 percent of people go to OTAs to compare prices and see the whole pool of options. OTAs compile their rich inventories by connecting to different partners via APIs - pieces of code facilitating the communication between different software systems. Who are those partners? Hotels . There are different ways for hotels and OTAs to connect: via Extranet , a Channel Manager software , or API connecting with hotels’ Central Reservation Systems . Bed banks or wholesalers . These industry players buy hotel rooms in bulk and sell them to OTAs, travel agents, or even airlines. Here’s more info on the largest bed banks and how OTAs can work with them . Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) . These computer networks dominate travel distribution and store inventories, schedules, and fares for all types of services: from hotels to ferries. Sabre, Amadeus and Travelport are the biggest and just about a necessity if you want to sell flight tickets. You can log into GDS terminals manually or set up an API connection. Airlines via NDC connection . This fairly new way of distribution allows airlines to sell their inventory bypassing GDSs. We previously explained how NDC works in detail, but in short, you’ll need a separate software solution. One more partner allows OTAs to promote their propositions - metasearch engines . Websites like Google Flights or Skyscanner aggregate different flight options. For many OTAs, this is the main source of traffic.

Finding the best mix of providers and distributors to keep the prices low and the markup high is the main task for any OTA and how they essentially make a profit. To support that task, an OTA should work like a well-oiled machine. Let's turn our attention to the main elements that help that machine run.

Online Travel Agency building blocks and technology

OTAs are technology-focused businesses. And they appeal to today’s traveler more than traditional travel agents for this exact reason. Most operations in OTAs are automatic, and there are many systems responsible for that. We will cover three mechanisms running in the background of an OTA: its booking and commission engines, and the back office. If you’re a visual learner, watch a series on YouTube from our Travel Technology Competence leader Andrey Chebotarov where he covers all of that. Starting from the customer’s perspective first, let's talk about booking engines - the heart of an OTA that interacts with users on the front and runs all main OTA tasks in the back.

How a booking engine works

A travel booking engine is a software component that processes bookings automatically. That’s just the tip of the iceberg though. In fact, a booking engine is responsible for all the following functions in an OTA.

A booking engine manages search and booking functions on the OTA website

Search rules . A booking engine can be programmed to show search results in a manner that suits you best using search rules. Search rules dictate what products from what suppliers at what price and to what users to show. That and the pricing rules are crucial elements in creating travel personalization . Pricing rules . Many OTAs practice dynamic pricing , meaning that the prices change depending on current demand, competition, season, suppliers, customer acquisition sources, and more. Pricing rules allow you to always choose the most profitable pricing considering all those factors. Booking and ticketing flow . A booking flow is a set of steps leading customers from search to payment. Each supplier has their own booking flow, and your OTA has to adjust to them all, which is a difficult technical and UX task, managed by a booking engine. Note: OTAs can do ticketing only if they’re accredited by IATA. Read how to get IATA accreditation and what the alternatives are in a separate article. This must’ve given you a good enough idea of how the main OTA process - booking - works. Now, let’s talk about the system that helps OTAs generate profit - a commission engine.

How a commission engine works

A commission rules engine is a software component that automatically calculates commission and accordingly - the final price of the booking.

Watch Andrey’s explanation for a detailed look at commission engines

There are two types of commissions used at OTAs - flat fees and adjustable commissions. Flat rates are common but unhelpful for winning the competition. So OTAs write commission rules depending on different factors, namely: Suppliers . If you got a particularly good rate from a supplier, you can set a lower commission, thus making a sale and keeping the margin high. Dates and destinations . You can set a larger commission ahead of high season or a popular event when you know that the demand will go up. Size of a deal . Customers with complex itineraries who bring more revenue than a regular traveler can get a discount. This is often a small price to pay for someone’s satisfaction and loyalty. Traffic source . A common practice is to cut the commission for users on the metasearch website where you’re fighting with competitors for the lowest price, and vice versa - boosting it up for people coming directly to your website. There are tons of factors and their combinations to include in commission rules. To learn the most successful combinations, OTAs can use analytics and tweak rules accordingly, or even automate the engine to always deliver you the best deals. These were two major systems in an OTA, but we also want to briefly cover a few admin processes happening in the background in an OTA’s back office.

What goes into an OTA’s back office

How main modules of the back office interact with each other and the partners

Booking desk . No OTA is fully automated. Many mid- and small-sized ones still rely on over-the-phone or offline bookings, even if customers come from the website. A booking desk is a tool for travel agents to view all bookings on a centralized platform, create custom travel packages, and book using more sophisticated ways, like accessing GDS terminals by hand. Customer relationships and support . Just like with any eCommerce business, it’s typical for an OTA to have a CRM system to keep information about customers. It’s mostly used for marketing, which is the lion’s share of an OTA’s budget. Customer data allows for understanding your client segments better, targeting them with offers they will be interested in, and building trust and loyalty.

Billing and payment processing . The topic of funds settlement often gets confusing, especially considering that the process is different for hotels and airlines, with many extra players joining in. When working with airlines, OTAs use software from industry regulators IATA or ARC . Hotels are often less complicated, but since you mostly get your inventory from third parties, the process requires some smart management and technical finesse. Ideally, all these functions should be automated to allocate your time and human resources to growing the business rather than supporting it. But realistically, you want to automate at least one system to solve the most repetitive tasks.

How to grow an OTA and maintain a competitive edge

There are tons of OTAs in the world and about 70 percent of the market is shared between the two largest players: Expedia Group and Booking Holdings. Expedia Group owns such brands as Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Trivago, and more. And Booking Holdings covers Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, and Rentalcars. You can see the market distribution in detail in this handy infographic . Despite a near oligopoly on the market, travel distribution remains a profitable business to start and run. Today, mid- and small-sized companies have all resources to thrive if they know what OTA success consists of. It’s one or a combination of these three things:

• Niche markets/demographics/regions . The more mainstream an OTA is, the less targeted it can be. Expedia and Booking.com can’t be oriented to every single region of the world, or traveler budget, or specific traveler taste. That’s why having done their research right, smaller businesses can find a niche to serve better than the giants do. Look at hostel-specific OTAs, local websites serving smaller European communities, or OTAs with rare connections to Destination Management Companies .
• Unique user experience . Traveler behavior changes all the time, which means that they have new needs and tastes that need to be satisfied. Tons of travel startups today offer interesting solutions to common problems - some offer subscription travel service, others allow monitoring prices or creating a full itinerary with minimum input from a customer. Unique ideas may take some advanced technological support, but it may benefit in the long run.
• Cheap prices . For 60 percent of travelers , the price remains the most important factor when choosing the itinerary, which means that customers choose a better deal over a brand name. Which is why the main competitive advantage your OTA should have is exclusive prices. Exclusive means previously negotiated with the supplier - not just pulled from the search result of a GDS.

We have a guide to building a marketing and pricing strategy for an OTA , but here are some main points.

Develop your partnerships

Even if you have the most advanced booking engine and a group of skilled agents to close the deals, the customers will leave you for OTAs where the price is simply lower. When connecting to bed banks and GDSs, every agency gets the same list of rooms, flights, and prices, so you have to start by negotiating the best rates with your main suppliers. For example, if your niche is family vacations in Greece, you should research airlines that fly there the most and find a wholesaler with the largest inventory of all-inclusive hotels in the Balkans. You get the idea.

Win the competition on metasearch sites

Skyscanner lists several OTAs with different prices for the same flight

Using acquisition analytics . To know what to promote, you need to know what already performs well and what (and why) doesn’t. The conversion rate is your main indicator that visitors chose a better deal over yours. Learn where it happened by looking at acquisition channels. Using metasearch analytics . Metasearch engines sell reports listing information on their search data, number of competitors (called bidders), and stats sorted by tons of different factors. This is an invaluable source of information to help you better target your offers. Understanding your engines . You will use a few metasearch sites to distribute and they’re rarely the same. Look into their demographics the same way you would consider suppliers.

Advertise and use content marketing

OTAs like Expedia use up to 50 percent of their revenue on marketing. They want to appear on your Facebook feed, remind you about your latest searches in emails, and create viral ads. Trivago’s tagline and pushy sales strategy even birthed a few memes . Get smart with your SEO and landing pages, focusing on keywords that your audience uses in their searches. Deliver useful content that will bring traffic and put you higher on the search page. And use Google ads, which are totally effective if you use specific keywords.

A few final pieces of advice

If you know the right formula and keep iterating, you will succeed. But we won’t lie - there are many challenges in this industry that OTAs face. The coronavirus crisis . The future of the travel industry is still unclear and all players are struggling to stay afloat and find new revenue streams . Joining the market right now is dangerous if you don’t have a strategy for working in the current climate. Some businesses, however, have opportunities to grow - smaller OTAs have a chance to offer more localized travel options to address current customer needs. Here's the take on the future of OTAs by our travel tech competence leader, Andrey:

Invisibility . OTAs should be ready to invest a lot in marketing and promotion. And often, there’s no clear way to what suits your business and customers best. This means analytics that will help you understand what works and what doesn’t are a must. Which brings us to the next point. Technology . Digital distribution thrives on technology. The most successful companies are tech giants with complex booking platforms. Smaller businesses succeed when they have either a digital infrastructure that allows them to work more effectively than competitors or unique customer-facing technology that makes travel shopping better. Whichever route you choose, make sure to invest in great custom technology.

The Evolution of Online Travel Agencies in the Last Decade: E-Travel SA as an Exceptional Paradigm

• Conference paper
• First Online: 22 June 2021
• Cite this conference paper

• Dimitra Psefti 3 ,
• Ioulia Poulaki 4 ,
• Alkistis Papaioannou 5 &
• Vicky Katsoni 6  

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics ((SPBE))

1592 Accesses

1 Citations

The recent evolution in tourism industry driven by the technological advances is really significant. This paper aims to highlight the development of the online travel agencies (hereinafter OTAs) and the way that technology has contributed to this direction by investigating the case of an OTA company, namely e-Travel SA. The Internet seems to have changed dramatically and in a positive way the tourism industry. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, virtual and augmented reality, Internet of things as well as gamification, offer valuable tools and applications both to businesses and to customers. At the same time, the increased use of mobile devices, digital tools and social media along with the unlimited access to information has made consumers demanding and updated. Consequently, they require more and more useful services based on their needs. Considering the aforementioned, it is easy to understand that marketing strategies of many companies have changed and that these companies are now exploiting the state of the art in digital marketing tools in order to get the best possible result. E-Travel is a real example of the OTAs’ evolution during the last decade, and their success proves that opportunities may be generated by exploiting the technological advancements.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info
• Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

The Role of ICT Applied to Tourism and Marketing in Asia

The Internet Influences Asian Tourism

OneAppy: An Interactive Platform Providing Novel Marketing Channels and Promoting Product and Services to the Tourism Industry

Bieger, T., & Laesser, C. (2004). Information sources for travel decisions: Toward a source process model. Journal of Travel Research, 42 (4), 357–371.

Article   Google Scholar  

Buhalis, D. (2004). eAirlines: strategic and tactical use of ICTs in the airline industry. Journal of Information and Management, 41 (7), 805–825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2003.08.015

Castillo-Manzano, J., & Lopez-Valpuesta, L. (2010). (2010) The decline of the traditional travel agent model. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 46 (5), 639–649.

Katsoni, V. (2014). The strategic role of virtual communities and social network sites on tourism destination marketing. e-Journal of Science & Technology, 9 (5), 107–117

Google Scholar  

Katsoni, V. (2015). ICT applications in the hotel industry through an e-CRM systems theory approach. Academica turistica (Spletna izd.), letnik year 8, številka 1, str. 15–23, 67. Available at: https://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:doc-VES5GDHR

Katsoni, V. (2017). The effects of ICTs on tourism distribution channels and DMOs marketing strategies. In Z. Andreopoulou, N. Leandros, G. Quaranta, & R. Salvia (Eds.), New media, entrepreneurship and sustainable tourism development (pp. 58–66). Italy: Francoangeli. EAN: 9788891751058, ISBN: 8891751057.

Navío-Marco, J., Ruiz-Gómez, L.M., Sevilla-Sevilla, C. (2018). Progress in information technology and tourism management: 30 years on and 20 years after the internet—Revisiting Buhalis & Law's landmark study about eTourism. Tourism Management, 69 , 460–470. Retrieved from: https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.eap.gr/science/article/pii/S0261517718301134

Morosan, C. (2014). Toward an integrated model of adoption of mobile phones for purchasing ancillary services in air travel. International Journal of Contemporary HospitalityManagement, 27 (2), 246–271.

Poulaki, I. & Katsoni, V. (2020) Current trends in air services distribution channel strategy: Evolution through digital transformation. In V. Katsoni & T.H. Spyriadis (Eds), Cultural & Tourism Innovation in the Digital Era. 6th International Conference of IACUDIT, Athens, Greece , 12–15 June 2019. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36342-0_21

Standing, C., Vasudavan, T. (2000.) Diffusion of internet technologies in travel agencies in Australia. In ECIS 2000 Proceedings . Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221407345_Diffusion_of_Internet_Technologies_in_Travel_Agencies_in_Australia_Craig

Tsang, N., Lai, M., & Law, R. (2010). Measuring E-Service quality for online travel agencies. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 27 (3), 306–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548401003744743 .

Xiang, Z. (2018), From digitalization to the age of acceleration: On information technology and tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives, 25 , 147–150. Retrieved from: https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.eap.gr/science/article/pii/S221197361730137X

Xiang, Z., Magninι, V.P., Fesenmaier, D.R. (2015) Information technology and consumer behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 22 , 244–249.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the departments of the company e-Travel SA for the provision of the data used in order to conduct this study.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece

Dimitra Psefti

University of Patras, Patras, Greece

Ioulia Poulaki

University of Peloponnese, Kalamata, Greece

Alkistis Papaioannou

University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

Vicky Katsoni

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ioulia Poulaki .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

Ciná van Zyl

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Cite this paper.

Psefti, D., Poulaki, I., Papaioannou, A., Katsoni, V. (2021). The Evolution of Online Travel Agencies in the Last Decade: E-Travel SA as an Exceptional Paradigm. In: Katsoni, V., van Zyl, C. (eds) Culture and Tourism in a Smart, Globalized, and Sustainable World. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72469-6_40

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72469-6_40

Published : 22 June 2021

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-72468-9

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-72469-6

eBook Packages : Business and Management Business and Management (R0)

Share this paper

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

• Case Study: Should a Hotelier Invest in a New Kind of Online Travel Agency?

Lotta Tindal, the chief marketing officer for the Dutch hospitality group Ervaring Hotels & Resorts, hadn’t wanted to come to the presentation, but Gerard Bakker, Ervaring’s CFO, had twisted her arm.

“These things are nothing more than glorified sales pitches,” she whispered to him.

“Stop acting like a teenager,” he joked. “I’m trying to pay attention.”

Gerard nodded toward the front of the room, where Dan Carlson, the CEO of HotelShield, stood at a podium, PowerPoint clicker at the ready.

“Besides, Curt said we should check it out,” Gerard added.

Ervaring’s CEO, Curt Schmitt, had suggested that they use part of their time at the ITB Berlin Trade Show to learn more about HotelShield, a new venture designed to help hotels increase direct bookings and reduce their dependence on online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia and Priceline, which facilitated a significant number of reservations but took a substantial cut of the revenue they generated. Lotta, who’d joined Ervaring from Marriott two years before, was the first to admit that her new company, with 12 brands operating 5,000 hotels, mainly in Europe, needed help. One fifth of its bookings were currently going through a third-party intermediary, which was turning out to be quite expensive. Although this wasn’t out of the ordinary for European hoteliers, Ervaring needed to reduce its cost per booking to improve its bottom line.

HotelShield wasn’t courting customers at ITB; it was courting investors. The venture had four equity partners — all major U.S. hotel brands — and was looking for more. Signing on would mean taking an 8-million-euro stake. But Lotta wasn’t yet ready to gamble a significant portion of her marketing budget on it.

Onstage, Dan spoke with authority. “On hotel websites, 95% of people abandon their shopping carts,” he said. “We help shield against some of those abandonments.” He demonstrated how HotelShield worked. When a user closed out of a hotel website without booking a room, a HotelShield ad would pop up under the window, offering alternative prices and locations within the same or a partner brand. Clicking on it would send the user to the website of whichever hotel he or she chose or to HotelShield’s website, where the user could find additional options and compare prices. And although HotelShield took a cut of the revenue generated , its fees were substantially lower than what the OTAs charged, because it didn’t have to spend much on marketing, relying instead on the pop-under ads to drive traffic to its own and partners’ websites.

“Our business model puts the power back in your hands: It restores your direct relationship with customers and allows you to market your properties as unique destinations—not commodities—again. OTAs cost this business close to $3 billion each year. They generate even more of your bookings and charge even higher fees here in Europe than they do in the U.S. I want to stop that. And I know you do too. Think of us as a partisan intermediary. We have created a third way between your brand sites and the OTAs.”

When the lights in the room came up, Gerard turned to Lotta. “You know I like anything that will pressure OTAs to lower their fees,” he said.

“But is HotelShield really the answer to all our problems? Are you willing to bet 8 million euros on it?”

“I have Carly running the ROI — both short-term and long-term,” he said, referring to Carly Janssen, his finance director, “but I have to say that I find it intriguing. You know Hilton and Starwood are two of the initial partners.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to follow,” Lotta said. “I’m having flashbacks to RoomLocator.”

At Marriott, Lotta had been part of the team that voted to make an investment in a young start-up with a similar value proposition — to undercut OTAs and help hospitality groups increase direct bookings. But within two years the whole venture had gone south, and Marriott, along with the four other partners, was out a lot of money.

“This seems different. It also has big brands behind it, but the business model makes more sense to me. We’re not losing our customers to a third party. This third party is just helping us move some of the traffic to direct sales.”

Lotta smiled at Gerard. In her short time at Ervaring, she’d come to rely on him for help with investment decisions. He was a no-nonsense numbers guy, not a risk taker. “You really fell for the hype, didn’t you?” she teased.

Still , she thought, maybe HotelShield is worth a second look .

Different From the Last Debacle

Lotta and Gerard walked down the street to a reception at a bar across from the Haus des Rundfunks. HotelShield was sponsoring the event, and Lotta wasn’t one to pass up a free glass of wine. The room was full of other industry executives who’d attended the presentation, and Lotta and Gerard could see Dan making the rounds, shaking hands and handing out cards.

“It seems a lot like an OTA in sheep’s clothing to me,” Lotta told Gerard.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem as bad to me. This feels more like an additional distribution channel. I don’t buy Dan’s line that all we have to do is ‘sit back and count the money,’ but this does seem like a friendlier intermediary. Besides, what don’t we like about third-party intermediaries? High fees and disconnection from our customers. You heard what Dan said. HotelShield is charging only 10%. That’s less than half what we pay some OTAs, and we get to keep the relationship with the customer. I wasn’t wowed by the current traffic numbers, but I understand it’s just getting started—”

Appearing behind him, Dan said, “And we haven’t heavily invested in marketing yet, because we’re waiting to secure all our equity partners first.” He grinned and shook hands with both of them. “I was so happy to see that you two made it to the presentation. I’ve exchanged a few e-mails with Curt, and I was sorry he couldn’t make it to Berlin.”

Before they could respond, Dan turned to Lotta. “I know you and everyone else in the U.S. were traumatized by the RoomLocator experience,” he said, “but this is going to be different…”

“It’s like you read her mind,” Gerard said. Lotta was impressed that Dan had done his homework.

Dan continued. “RoomLocator simply couldn’t compete in the 1999 market when investors were dumping silly money into the likes of Travelocity and Expedia. Plus those OTAs were just babies, and we had no idea how real a threat they would become. Fifteen years later we’re on a more level playing field and we have much better analytics on what customers want. Our website is uncluttered and easy to use and represents savings for consumers. Did you see the piece in USA Today ?”

Curt had sent around the article. A reporter had tested HotelShield against OTAs over several weeks and found in every case that he would have saved money by using it. Lotta understood the promise: Customers could get the same rates they would on Priceline or Expedia — or even lower ones — plus all the benefits of direct booking, such as flexible room choices, loyalty program points, the ability to make custom amenity requests, and no cancellation fees.

“A very nice press hit,” Lotta said. “But do you really think you can beat the OTAs at their own game? How long will it take you to get those traffic numbers up?”

“It’s a crowded market, for sure. And it’s getting even more competitive with Expedia buying up Orbitz and Travelocity. But we’ve had great success so far. In the first six months we had 4 million unique visitors, and we’re now reaching 14 million travelers a month. As I said, we haven’t done a ton of marketing because we’re still lining up equity partners. I’ve already told Curt that we’re willing to consider an exclusive deal in Europe. You’d be the first here on the Continent, and you could be the only one. But that offer won’t stand for long. We’ve got interest from Intercontinental and Steigenberger  as well. It would be a shame if you all missed the boat on this.”

“Well, you know we don’t make the final call, so we’ll have to be in touch,” Lotta said, steering Gerard away.

As they exited the bar, Gerard reminded her that Curt had put the ball in her court. He was relying on her to make a suggestion to the board.

“I know,” Lotta said. “I just wanted to get Dan off my back. He was getting on my nerves. Even worse, he was persuading me that this might be a good idea.”

Negative NPV

Later that week, back at Ervaring’s Amsterdam headquarters, Lotta, Gerard, and Carly Janssen were crowded around Carly’s laptop looking at her analysis of a potential HotelShield investment.

“The company has a solid business model, but we’d lose money as a partner,” Carly said. “You can see that if you go three years out, the NPV is still negative on our investment. Even when I do the sensitivity analysis and change the underlying assumptions, there’s really no scenario in which this works for us.”

Lotta’s assistant brought in lunch, and they all paused for a moment to unwrap their sandwiches. Lotta wasn’t surprised by the numbers. The OTAs had a pretty strong grip on consumers, and it seemed unlikely that a company with pop-under ads would suddenly change that.

“So it’s a no,” she said.

“I know this is going to sound strange coming from me,” Gerard said, “but even if the short-term and midterm numbers don’t look good, I’m not sure we should let this opportunity pass us by. We may not see an immediate return, but if HotelShield gets even a piece of the market share over the next few years, the OTAs will have to pay attention. As you know, it’s essentially a two-player OTA market right now, and Expedia and Priceline have more negotiating leverage than they’ve ever had before. Maybe we can’t be completely free of OTAs, but if they lowered their fees by even a few percentage points, it would have a huge impact on our bottom line — perhaps not today, but over the long run.”

Carly was stunned. She looked up midbite. “We’re still talking about a huge loss over the next three years,” she said, pointing to her laptop screen.

“This isn’t about a monetary return, at least not right now,” Gerard insisted. “This is about trying to shake up the industry. Everyone in e-commerce wants a piece of the $1.3 trillion travel industry. With Amazon and Google moving in and threatening to intercept our customers between searching and booking, we’ve got to do something soon if we want to stay in the game. With the likes of Hilton and Starwood becoming partners with HotelShield, we should be taking this very seriously.”

“But maybe that’s the point,” Carly replied. “We’re not a Hilton or a Starwood. So let the U.S. players make this investment and see what happens. We don’t have to take the risk, and we can still enjoy the benefits later — when HotelShield wants us as a customer rather than a partner, or when it forces the OTAs to lower their fees.”

Lotta could see why Carly was Gerard’s right-hand woman. She had a good head on her shoulders. “I like that idea,” she chimed in, fully aware that she was flip-flopping.

“Sitting back and waiting isn’t going to work if we want to see changes in Europe,” Gerard countered. “HotelShield needs a partner here, and we’re the biggest brand. I know you’re gun-shy, Lotta, but you can’t let the RoomLocator experience color everything that comes after. There needs to be pressure from all over.”

Long-Term Return

Lotta had made it through security at Schiphol and was waiting in line to board her flight to London for a day of meetings. She checked her iPhone one last time before getting to her seat and saw an e-mail from Curt that read: “Have you decided on HotelShield?”

She knew he wasn’t expecting an immediate reply, so she decided to think it over during the plane ride and e-mail him from her taxi into London.

Nine thousand meters up, she reminded herself of all the reasons this investment wasn’t worth a significant portion of her budget. HotelShield was unproven in the marketplace. The business model was sound, but would consumers, especially European travelers, take to the pop-under ads? Could the venture convert enough shoppers to make this a viable channel for Ervaring and scare the OTAs into lowering their fees?

At the same time, she heard Gerard’s voice admonishing her for letting the RoomLocator debacle color her judgment. She didn’t want that to prevent Ervaring from shaking up the industry and taking profits back from the OTAs. If it didn’t invest, one of the British or German brands probably would, perhaps as an exclusive partner, and Ervaring might be left in the dust.

She looked out the window and wondered, Is this too big a risk? Or is it an opportunity we can’t pass up?

Chekitan S. Dev ( [email protected] ) is an associate professor of marketing and brand management at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York.

Peter O’Connor is a professor of information systems at ESSEC Business School in Paris.

Case study was first published in hbr.org

Related posts

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Human Defense Platform Comprehensive detection, decisioning, and protection for today’s customer journey Comprehensive detection, decisioning, and protection for today’s customer journey
• Platform Packages Advertising Comprehensive, purpose-built solutions for ad tech platforms and digital publishers. Comprehensive, purpose-built solutions for ad tech platforms and digital publishers.
• Applications Cybersecurity solutions to protect web and mobile applications from fraud and abuse. Cybersecurity solutions to protect web and mobile applications from fraud and abuse.
• Account Stop fraudsters from exploiting your valuable online accounts on apps and websites. Stop fraudsters from exploiting your valuable online accounts on apps and websites.
• Ad Fraud Sensor
• PCI DSS Compliance
• Ad Fraud Defense
• Data Contamination
• Account Takeover
• Malvertising
• Transaction Abuse
• Fake Accounts
• Client-Side
• Compromised Accounts
• Blog HUMAN Insight and Research from our team HUMAN Insight and Research from our team
• Case Studies See what customers have to say about HUMAN See what customers have to say about HUMAN
• Webinars Videos and content about HUMAN expertise and industry intelligence Videos and content about HUMAN expertise and industry intelligence
• Resource Center Blogs, whitepapers, research, videos, articles—all in one place Blogs, whitepapers, research, videos, articles—all in one place
• Documentation Details about HUMAN's products and interfaces. Details about HUMAN's products and interfaces.
• Security HUMAN's data security & privacy FAQ HUMAN's data security & privacy FAQ
• Satori Threat Intelligence Research Team HUMAN’s Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team proactively uncovers and disrupts bot-driven threats. HUMAN’s Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team proactively uncovers and disrupts bot-driven threats.
• Bot Insights Get the insights you need to protect your business from bots Get the insights you need to protect your business from bots
• Application Security
• Blocking Bots
• Bot Detection
• Brute Force Attack
• Credential Stuffing
• E-commerce Security
• Fake Account Creation
• PII Harvesting
• Shadow Code
• Supply Chain Attack
• Web Scraping
• About HUMAN safeguards against bot attacks and fraud HUMAN safeguards against bot attacks and fraud
• News HUMAN in the News HUMAN in the News
• Careers Find your next career move with HUMAN Find your next career move with HUMAN
• Leadership Meet the elite bot threat hunters dedicated to making the internet a safer place Meet the elite bot threat hunters dedicated to making the internet a safer place
• Board of Directors Meet the minds behind HUMAN’s mission Meet the minds behind HUMAN’s mission
• The Human Collective Collective protection to fight ad-based fraud Collective protection to fight ad-based fraud
• Satori Threat Intelligence Research Team HUMAN’S Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team proactively uncover and disrupt bot-driven threats HUMAN’S Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team proactively uncover and disrupt bot-driven threats
• Partnerships and Integrations HUMAN integrates with several technology partners, ensuring bot mitigation success in any environment. HUMAN integrates with several technology partners, ensuring bot mitigation success in any environment.
• Resellers Explore HUMAN's technology through channel partners, combining bot mitigation and other security solutions. Explore HUMAN's technology through channel partners, combining bot mitigation and other security solutions.
• Become a Partner HUMAN collaborates with the world's leading technology companies HUMAN collaborates with the world's leading technology companies
• Partner Portal Log into the HUMAN Partner Portal for collateral, documentation, and other partnership needs. Log into the HUMAN Partner Portal for collateral, documentation, and other partnership needs.
• Request a Demo

Contact Sales

Connect with a HUMAN bot protection expert to find out how our products can help you meet your project deadline and security needs

HUMAN Insight and Research from our team

This is a title

Online travel agency stops account takeover and scraping bot attacks.

- Infrastructure Lead

• Accurate bot protection : Bot Defender uses behavioral analysis, machine learning and predictive methods to detect and mitigate scraping and ATO attacks in real time.
• Preserved functionality of good bots:  The leading OTA works with a large number of business partners that use automation, so being able to discover and whitelist the unknown good bot traffic was extremely important for the business.
• Easy integration: Bot Defender’s open architecture allowed it to integrate easily with the OTA’s existing infrastructure. This enabled fast deployment and quick results.
• Low-latency: Bot Defender is designed for low latency, which reduces the load on the OTA’s web infrastructure. This preserved website performance and Google page rankings. 
• Always-available security expertise: HUMAN offers best-in-class service and security analyst insights via Slack, email or phone.

Bot Defender identified that, on average, more than half of the OTA’s traffic came from unwanted bots. That number jumped to 95% of the traffic on login pages. As Bot Defender mitigated the malicious bots, the OTA quickly saw the following results:

• Improved website performance : The low latency architecture and reduction in bot traffic improved response time by up to 200ms — over 50% faster.  In addition, the number of bot-related production outages on the OTA’s website dropped to zero.
• Reduction of business and infrastructure costs : The OTA saved significantly on GDS fees and other third-party costs due to a more than 12% reduction in API calls to these services. The CPU utilization on web servers also dropped by 25%, lowering infrastructure costs. 
• Improved look-to-book ratio : Once Bot Defender cleaned up the OTA’s web data, their look-to-book ratio was no longer skewed low due to scraping bots. The team gained confidence that A/B testing results were accurate, allowing them to make smarter decisions about pricing and promotions.
• Strengthened consumer trust: The efficient blocking of ATO attacks provided a safer user experience and reduced calls to customer service. The improved site performance also made for a more frictionless buyer journey.

Connect with Us to Learn More How HUMAN Can Mitigate Scraping Attacks for You

Related resources.

• HUMAN Bot Defender

Account Takeover, Scraping

• Human Defense Platform
• Advertising
• Applications
• Digital Advertising
• Healthcare & Insurance
• Public Sector
• Streaming & Media
• Travel & Entertainment
• Marketplaces
• Retail & E-commerce
• Technology Platforms
• BotGaurd for Growth Marketing
• Account Defender
• Code Defender
• Credential Intelligence
• Satori Threat Intelligence 
Research Team
• Board of Directors
• What is The Human Collective?
• The Human Collective
• Integrations
• Partner Portal
• For Security
• For Marketing
• For Product
• Case Studies
• Resources Center
• Tech & Engineering Blog
• Talk to an Expert
• New York City
• Washington DC
• Privacy Policy
• Notice to California Residents
• Cookie Settings
• Data Security & Privacy FAQ

• Online Travel Agencies Mitigate Fraud with Emailage®

We'll contact you.

• Insights and Resources

LexisNexis® Emailage® Helps Two OTAs Improve Fraud Detection Processes

Case Study 1: How and online travel agency optimized fraud detection and improved processes with LexisNexis® Emailage® The first case study illustrates why LexisNexis® Emailage®  was selected as a frontline fraud prevention solution by a European online travel agency looking to optimize its fraud detection capabilities. Some key criteria that made LexisNexis® Emailage® stand out as the desired fraud risk scoring solution included:

• The ability to get results using non-sensitive customer data
• Crowdsourced network intelligence capabilities
• Large and diverse client base
• Strong support team

By using LexisNexis® Emailage® solutions, the company was able to fully integrate, including testing, pre-production, live activation, within a one week time frame. Two areas were identified where LexisNexis® Emailage® could provide immediate value:

• Automated decisioning via direct API integration to the company’s existing risk engine
• During manual review process for additional verification

The company was also able to improve many other existing processes. LexisNexis® Emailage® provided the online travel agency with a first line of defense in assessing new customers using one identification attribute – an email address – and helped the company expand into a new market with greater confidence.  Case Study 2:  How an online travel agency increased efficiency by leveraging LexisNexis® Emailage® Email Risk Score The second case study illustrates how LexisNexis® Emailage®  was leveraged by an online travel company rapidly expanding into new markets. They quickly realized that with expansion comes the need to capture new, valid regional data points to effectively cater to both domestic and international travelers using their online travel platform. Without these additional data points to verify new customers’ account information and / or approve new transactions across each new market, they ran the risk of higher decline rates and poor customer experience. The need for additional valid dynamic data to aid in their expansion plan doesn’t stop at regional customers. Cross-continent expansion is their next strategic goal and the client recognized that they cannot scale quickly if they are reliant on static data known to detect fraud inaccurately.

LexisNexis® Emailage® Email Risk Score was implemented to analyze and provide additional data points on any transactions made locally or regionally. The results for the online travel agency included:

• A higher acceptance rate for new cross-border transactions
• An increased confidence in the fraud decision process
• Reduced customer friction

The client also integrated LexisNexis® Emailage® fraud warnings into their workflow. Fraud analysts can now quickly and efficiently review suspected fraud activity once a new alert is triggered. This allows them to detect early changes in fraud patterns and swiftly update their fraud strategy. Overall, it has resulted in a smoother workflow and increased efficiency for fraud analysts. 

With the implementation of LexisNexis® Emailage®  as their fraud risk scoring partner, the client has seen a significant return on their investment through increased approvals on new cross border transactions which, in turn, translates to potential revenue growth.

LexisNexis® Emailage® Case Study

Lexisnexis® emailage® email risk score case study, have sales contact me, related resources, liveme case study.

Power user trust decisions and protect against cybercrime with predictive digital identity insights.

Wallapop Detect and Prevent Fraud

LexisNexis® ThreatMetrix® helps Wallapop better detect fraud across the customer journey.

Products You May Be Interested In

Behaviosec®.

Transform human interactions into actionable intelligence

LexisNexis® Emailage®

Get a clear picture of who is behind a transaction and the associated risk, so your team can automate decision workflows, improve customer experience, all in near-real time

ThreatMetrix®

Enable cybersecurity and risk management through data science innovation and shared intelligence

VCDD Undertaken for an Online Travel Agent (Technology)

We examined the sustainability of an online travel agent’s price-driven business model and assessed its performance in a tough economic climate

Client and project overview

Travel Republic invited AMR International’s travel team to provide an independent review of the business and its markets for potential acquirers

Key questions

• How attractive are Travel Republic’s addressable markets?
• How strong is Travel Republic’s competitive position and how sustainable are its sources of competitive advantage?
• How achievable is management’s business plan?

Highlights of our methodology

• We provided a fully transparent analysis of the company, including a segmentation of the beach and city-break holiday markets and a detailed review of online performance metrics, combined with an extensive benchmarking exercise
• The analysis was backed by a variety of primary and secondary research methodologies and an online survey of over 10,000 Travel Republic customers
• We also validated Travel Republic’s growth forecasts and confirmed its strong and improving position in the marketplace

Following the completion of the due diligence, and a competitive bidding process, Travel Republic was acquired by Data, a subsidiary of the Emirates Group

“AMR played a key role in the deal process. They understand the travel industry in detail and interacted well with potential investors to give them a clear view of our company and business model. A real pleasure to work with.”

How Stax Leverages Data & Analytics to Identify Growth Opportunities for Multi-Location Businesses

B2B Events CDD Series: Investor Considerations – Part 3

Stax Advises Cobepa on its Investment in Easyfairs in Partnership with Inflexion and Founder​

30 Years of Actionable Insights: Celebrating Stax’s Milestones and Commitment to Client and Employee Success

Stax Honored for Excellence in Technology Application at Consulting Magazine's 2024 Leaders in Technology Consulting Awards

Creating Value Through State and Local Government (SLG) GovTech: Insights for Investors

All Rights Reserved | Stax LLC | Powered by Flypaper | Privacy Policy

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, managing service innovations at online travel agencies: evidence from china.

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology

ISSN : 1757-9880

Article publication date: 25 June 2021

Issue publication date: 5 August 2021

Research on service innovation management of online travel agencies (OTAs) remains relatively scarce. This study aims to illuminate the detailed components of managing service innovations at OTAs.

Design/methodology/approach

An in-depth case study is conducted at Trip, the largest OTA in China. A coherent framework of managing service innovations at OTAs is proposed through refining an existing framework from new service development (NSD), and concerning the success factors of service innovation. Based on theoretical synthesis and empirical analysis, the NSD framework is adapted, restructured and refined for service innovation management at OTAs.

The proposed framework contains three facets and associated managerial elements: (1) resources, including stakeholders, technologies and systems; (2) contexts, including innovation strategy, structure and culture; and (3) ideation, including idea generation and idea application. Different success factors are attached to the managerial elements. The facets, managerial elements and success factors serve as the components in the framework.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides academia with an analytical framework to understand and interpret service innovation management at OTAs, which can be used as a point of departure for future research.

Practical implications

The analytical framework inspires OTA managers to adopt a structured approach in service innovation management, and policymakers to design related interventions.

Originality/value

This study offers a first step toward the investigation of service innovation management at OTAs, specifically in China. The proposed framework is potentially applicable to other industries.

目前关于在线旅行社(OTA) 的服务创新管理的研究相对贫乏。本研究旨在阐明OTA的服务创新管理的具体元素。

研究设计/方法/途径：

本研究以携程网（中国最大的在线旅行社）为对象进行深入案例分析。通过改善已有的基于新服务开发;理论（NSD）, 以及综合服务创新成功要素的理论框架从而提出一项连贯的服务创新管理理论框架。基于理论综合以及实证分析，本研究改编，整合和改善了NSD理论框架从而为在线旅行社的服务创新管理框架所适用。

被提议的理论框架包括三个层面以及相关管理元素：1） 资源，包括利益相关者，科技和系统；2）应用环境，包括创新战略，结构和文化；以及3）构思能力，包括概念生成，概念应用。管理元素与不同的成功要素相结合。这些层面，管理元素和成功因素作为提出框架的组成部分。

本研究为学术领域提供了分析框架，从而进一步了解和诠释了在线旅行社的服务创新，从而作为今后研究的起点。

本分析框架促使在线旅社管理者在服务创新中借用更加结构化的方法，并且鼓励政策制定者来设计相关的干预措施

本研究提供了在中国的环境下迈向在线旅社服务创新的第一步。提议的框架对其他产业也存在潜在贡献。

• Service innovation
• Travel agency
• Online service
• Case study method

Acknowledgements

Funding : This work is supported in part by 2020 Chengdu Planning Project of Philosophy and Social Science (grant number 2020BS003).

Mu, Y. , Bossink, B. , Vinig, T. and You, S. (2021), "Managing service innovations at online travel agencies: evidence from China", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology , Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 533-547. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-08-2020-0190

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles

We’re listening — tell us what you think, something didn’t work….

Report bugs here

All feedback is valuable

Please share your general feedback

Join us on our journey

Platform update page.

Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

Questions & More Information

Answers to the most commonly asked questions here

Why Attend?

• Live Online
• 1,00,000+ people attended since 2009
• Rs 1999 FREE
• Certificate of Participation
• An exclusive Surprise

Case study: How MakeMyTrip became leader in Online Travel Agency?

After completing MBA, the founder of MakeMyTrip Deep Kalra worked at ABN Amro Bank and GE Money and lived a luxurious life. But he was not in a mood to listen to his boss’s voice. His life dramatically changed after a meeting with his friend at a Mumbai mall where they developed the business plan over a napkin and a top most company came on the floor from napkin.

Kalra was in a mood to open the online travel portal in such a situation when there were only 50 million internet users and out of which only 2 million had broadband connection. The investors were not in a mood to invest with Kalra and revoked but it was not enough to disrupt Kalra from his vision. He along with 2 other managers worked for 18 months without any salary.

He didn’t stop here and told their employees for 40% salary cutoffs. Twenty five of them moved out themselves and 17 took their own path. Kalra known for his business strategy knew the market scenario and focused mainly on the inbound customers returning to India but he didn’t forget the vision to open an online travel portal. Now the firm has many investors who came to the platform to invest in it. Some includes SAIF Partners, Helion Ventures Partners, Sierra Ventures.

Founded by Deep Kalra in the year 2000 in US and then extended in India in 2005, MakeMyTrip is the largest online travel company in India and is second largest most visited travel website after IRCTC.

MakeMyTrip has currently acquired the startup firm in travel planning Mygola for an undisclosed amount. MakeMyTrip Group CEO Deep Kalra confirmed the acquisition by saying “They have acquired 100 percent of Mygola”.

He further added “the team of Mygola is known to him since the last 4 years and they have great product expertise”. He continued further, the acquisition was done through its Innovation Fund, which was formed to invest in start-up or early-stage companies in the travel technology space.

MakeMyTrip is a well-known name for providing services in luxurious tours and hotel booking websites. The company has branched after its inception through a series of small acquisitions. MakeMyTrip has its seventh acquisition as Mygola. MakeMyTrip has acquired Mygola as third takeover of an Indian company.

The site, Mygola.com covers more than 20,000 destinations worldwide, with half a million organic visitors a month.

Mygola said that its app is present in 16 cities across the world which has more than 5000 installs from Google Playstore on android. The app enables the user to create custom trips in just 15 minutes.

Must read from DSIM blog:

1- 10 things to know before you start an e-commerce website

2- 10 marketing lessons we must learn from AAP and Arvind Kejriwal

3- How to decide upon right Internet marketing mix?

4- 11 signs you can have a successful career in digital marketing

“Mygola team’s deep understanding of travelers’ planning and in-destination experience preferences will be very valuable in strengthening the areas of customer engagement” said Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder & CEO, MakeMyTrip India.

Anshuman Bapna, CEO, Mygola said, ” MakeMyTrip is the leader in one of the world’s most exciting travel markets, and the team is super-excited to bring all this knowledge to the millions of MakeMyTrip travellers”.

The services and products provided by MakeMyTrip includes air tickets, railway tickets, bus tickets, holiday packages, hotel bookings, car hires and many more.

With the acquisition of Mygola, now MakeMyTrip will enable its customers to be familiar with over 20000 holiday destinations to choose from.

An employee from the development team confirmed that all the 15 employees of Mygola will work as usual under the name of MakeMyTrip.

The acquisition comes at the time when the digital marketing industry is booming and the travel sector is heating up in the industry. According to a report from starter data tracker Tracxn, “The travel industry has received about $71million in funding so far in 2015 which was around $55million in overall 2014”.

Series “A” seed funding of about $1 million came to Mygola in December 2011 from the US-based accelerator 500Startups, Blumberg Capital and a few angel investors. Again in October 2013, Mygola raised $1.5 million in Series “A” funding from Helion Venture Partners and others.

At present MakeMyTrip claims that their app have been downloaded around seven million. They are getting 40% of their sales through the mobile phone which was 20% in 2012, “said Magow, the co-founder”.

Mobile contribution to traffic grew to 33% in 2014 from 20% in 2013. Mobile users contributed more than 34% of total online domestic hotel transactions in the last quarter.

Social media Strategy of MMT

On Facebook, the company official page has 1,559,116 likes and content are posted on regular basis to keep the customers engaged on the page and let them know about the offering s and campaigns.

They have a healthy number of followers on twitter also. The company joined Twitter in 2009 and in the small span of time they have above 27, 517 active followers. The company keeps on updating their page with various offers and contests and the users keep on participating in the contest.

Such contests and campaigns help them to increase their reachability and boost up the sales with special offers, discount coupons and freebies.

MakeMyTrip official channel on Youtube has 5775 subscribers with 15 lacs+ views registered till date for 562 videos posted by the brand. The YouTube channel consists of all the TV Commercials released by the brands, along with videos covering travel destinations, hotels and accommodations.

The company has utilized the video sharing site Youtube efficiently and has taken it as the second screen after the TV commercials ads.

Stats that will amaze you:

1- Digital marketing stats that will change the way you perceive marketing

2- 28 Awesome youtube stats that will blow away your mind

Make my trip Acquisitions/Merging

MMT projected a turnover of $255.37 million (2013-14). The Indian operations were estimated to contribute over 50 per cent of MMT’s projected turnover and MMT was expecting that in the initial years, 90 per cent of the sales would be online and rest through its call centre and physical offices.

The business model focused on generating revenue from travellers to and from India. Within a year after inception in India, MMT has acquire a strong customer base of over 200, 000 delighted customers and selling over 3,000 flight tickets, 300 hotel room nights, and over 50 holiday packages every day.

Other Case studies from DSIM blog-

1- Paytm: Journey from mobile recharge to leader in e-commerce market

2- How yepme.com made a name for itself in competitive Indian e-commerce industry

3- Bewakoof.com: trending youth life

4- Zomato.com, An Indian startup acquiring the world

30 Social Bookmarking Sites to Boost SEO & Drive Traffic

8 Digital Marketing Tips Your Competitors Probably Don’t Know

13 CTA Stats to Quantify Its POWER for BRANDS

DSIM Reviews – See What DSIM’s Awesome Trainees Say about DSIM

5 Reasons Why Data Accuracy Matters for Your Business

5 Google Penalty Checker tools To Save You

How Resource Design uses Google Adwords to drive targeted traffic for clients

How aamby valley created a buzz among masses just within 10 days through social media.

CASE STUDY: How MyDala has created its niche in online coupon and deal market in India?

Online Travel Agency Case Study

A European-based online travel agency. 70% of sales are driven by meta search engines. The remaining 30% of sales come from direct traffic, comprised of organic traffic, keyword advertising and SEO.

Get In Touch!

Quicklizard may provide you with updates regarding our products, tips, etc. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. 

Our Security

All resources, case studies, privacy policy, terms of service, © 2024 quicklizard ltd. all rights reserved, papagay digital ltd., privacy overview.

Online Travel Agency (OTA)

• jodanmarketer
• December 3, 2023

This case study delves into the challenges faced by a leading Online Travel Agency (OTA) and the strategic implementation of SEO measures that resulted in a remarkable 3X increase in organic traffic within six months. The OTA, specializing in hotel bookings and travel packages, confronted technical and on-page SEO issues affecting its online visibility and user experience.

Introduction

In this case study, we delve into the challenges faced by a prominent Online Travel Agency (OTA) and the transformative strategy that led to a remarkable 3X surge in organic traffic within six months.

Business Background

Specializing in hotel bookings and travel packages, the OTA enjoyed a strong presence in the travel industry. However, critical issues impeded its online visibility and user experience.

Challenges Faced

Technical issues, missing canonical tags.

• The absence of canonical tags resulted in duplicate content issues, perplexing search engines.

Unformatted Slug Structures

• Unstructured slugs hindered Google's effective interpretation and indexing of the website's content.

Redirection Issues

• Poorly managed redirections led to broken links and a disjointed user experience.
• Suboptimal Core Web Vitals (CWV) score negatively impacted user experience and SEO rankings.

On-Page SEO Issues

Non-optimized meta tag.

• Non-optimized meta tags affected click-through rates (CTR) and search engine rankings.

Inadequate Title and Descriptions

• Titles and descriptions lacked clarity and relevance, diminishing their effectiveness.

Missing Relevant FAQs

• The relevant FAQs was missing in the content and un optimized thin content was found during the content audit.

Our approach

Audit. plan. rank..

Transform Dreams into Clicks: Your Gateway to Digital Triumph!

Begin by defining clear goals and KPIs for your digital marketing campaign, outlining the desired outcomes.

Develop and implement the campaign based on the concept, incorporating various channels and strategies to reach your target audience.

Continuously assess the campaign's effectiveness through A/B testing, analyzing data, and refining strategies for optimal performance.

Our Winning Strategy

Technical seo audit.

• A thorough audit using Screaming Frog identified and listed all technical issues.
• Development team addressed canonical tag and slug structure issues, optimized redirections, and improved CLS.

Keyword Research

• Extensive research identified high-potential keywords and content opportunities.

Content Gap Analysis

• The competitive analysis identified content gaps compared to competitors.

Keyword Navigation

• Sweet spot keywords were identified and optimized for rapid search engine rankings improvement.

Content Creation

• High-quality content was created to fill identified content gaps and target optimized keywords.

Location-Based Landing Pages

• Individual landing pages for various locations were created and optimized for local SEO.

Site Structure Improvement

• A structured site architecture was established to enhance user experience and search engine crawlers' efficiency.

Results Achieved

The implementation of the comprehensive strategy yielded remarkable results within a six-month timeframe.

3X Increase in Organic Traffic:

The OTA experienced a substantial threefold increase in organic website traffic, showcasing the effectiveness of addressing technical and on-page SEO challenges.

Time Duration

• Six months.

Future Implications

This successful case study serves as a blueprint for other online travel agencies , emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive SEO strategy to overcome technical and on-page challenges. The OTA’s experience positions it for long-term success in the dynamic and competitive online travel industry.

This case study exemplifies the success of a holistic SEO approach in overcoming technical and on-page challenges by JO Marketing , propelling substantial organic traffic growth, and positioning the OTA for long-term success in the fiercely competitive online travel industry.

By systematically addressing technical issues, optimizing on-page elements, and creating high-value content, the OTA not only revitalized its online presence but also enhanced user experience and significantly improved its search engine rankings.

In conclusion, the journey of this OTA exemplifies the transformative power of strategic SEO implementation, showcasing how a commitment to resolving technical and on-page issues can lead to substantial organic traffic growth and sustained success in the online travel business.

Key Takeaways

Technical audits are crucial.

Regular technical SEO audits, as demonstrated by using tools like Screaming Frog, are crucial to identifying and rectifying issues that may hinder search engine performance.

Collaboration Between SEO and Development Teams

Effective communication and collaboration between SEO and development teams are essential for implementing technical solutions, such as addressing canonical tag issues and optimizing site structure.

Strategic Keyword Optimization

Identifying and optimizing sweet spot keywords significantly contributes to improving search engine rankings and driving organic traffic.

Local SEO Strategies Matter

Creating location-based landing pages and optimizing them with local entities and keywords play a vital role in enhancing local SEO and attracting region-specific traffic.

Case Studies

Companies all over the world use hubspot to unite their teams, empower their business, and grow better. learn how..

Featured Case Studies

WeightWatchers Completely Revamped their Enterprise Sales Process with HubSpot

• Consumer Services
• Increased Productivity

eXp Realty communicates seamlessly with 90,000+ agents through HubSpot

• Real Estate
• Marketing Hub
• Improve Contact Management

Boyd Switches from Pardot and Captures 82% More High Quality Leads

• Manufacturing
• Increase Conversion Rates

Howard University’s School of Business Builds Stronger Sponsor Relationships With the HubSpot CRM Platform

Rock Content Increases Revenue by 650% with HubSpot

• Software & Technology
• Integrate Company Data
• Sales and Marketing Alignment

Avison Young Increases CRM Adoption from 23% to 90%

• Team Adoption
• Revenue Forecasting

Momentive Aligns Marketing Processes With HubSpot

• Integrations
• Shorten Deal Cycle

ClassPass Uses CMS Hub to Increase Conversion Rates

• Sports & Fitness

Ceros used HubSpot to achieve 180% deal generation growth through smarter prospecting

• Prospecting Smarter

Hear More From Companies Like Yours

See how your industry peers are succeeding with HubSpot.

• Banking & Financial Services
• Consumer Goods
• Media & Communications
• Marketing & Advertising

Attract more leads, convert more customers, and grow better with HubSpot.

The HubSpot CRM platform empowers businesses to unite their teams, close more deals, and delight their customers.

Marketing, Service, and Sales Hub users closed

more deals than users with Sales Hub only.

CMS and Marketing Hub users added an average of

more contacts than users with Marketing Hub only.

Sales, Service, and Marketing Hub users saw

more website traffic than users with Marketing Hub only.

Start Growing With HubSpot Today

See for yourself how the HubSpot CRM platform can help your teams be more connected, your website more customizable, and your business more customer-centric.

businesses in more than 135 countries trust HubSpot.

What is omnichannel marketing?

Picture this: you’re browsing online for some new work clothes, and you add something to your virtual cart but ultimately decide not to buy it. Then later, you see an ad on social media for the abandoned garment. Some scratch their heads at this, but it’s actually an example of omnichannel marketing.

The prefix “omni” means “all,” and “channel” is a reference to the many ways customers might interact with a company—in physical stores, by surfing the web, on social media, and in emails, apps, SMS, and other digital spaces. And this omnichannel approach can be a powerful way to meet your customers where they are, providing them good service in line with their preferences and needs. (Note that, in this article, we use the terms “customers,” “consumers,” and “shoppers” interchangeably in referring to omnichannel marketing in both B2B and B2C contexts.)

More and more, customers move across all channels—in person, online, and beyond—to get what they want. But not every customer is looking for the same thing, and omnichannel marketing acknowledges that. Some people want more services for certain transactions; others prefer low-touch, 24/7 interactions. Effective omnichannel marketing , then, happens when companies provide a set of seamlessly integrated channels, catering to customer preferences, and steer them to the most efficient solutions.

So why is omnichannel marketing important? Research on the omnichannel experience  shows more than half of B2C customers engage with three to five channels each time they make a purchase or resolve a request. And the average customer looking to make a single reservation for accommodations (like a hotel room) online switched nearly six times between websites and mobile channels. If these customers encounter inconsistent information or can’t get what they need, they may lose interest in a brand’s products or services.

And this can translate into business outcomes. Omnichannel customers shop 1.7 times more than shoppers who use a single channel. They also spend more.

Sometimes the term omnichannel is used in the context of customer service or customer experience . And it’s also used as a descriptor of other elements that go into supporting an organization’s omnichannel efforts—for instance, omnichannel supply chains , which is shorthand for an approach in which companies ensure that their supply chains are optimally set up to support omnichannel marketing efforts.

What are examples of omnichannel?

Omnichannel approaches are commonly used in retail  (both B2B  and B2C ), but you’ll also find it in healthcare and other spaces. Medtech companies , for instance, use a variety of channels including digital marketing, inside sales, portal and e-commerce, and hybrid sales-rep interactions to engage with healthcare professionals.

Several omnichannel examples  can illustrate various approaches:

• Best Buy typically focuses on commerce (both in store and online), but boosted its in-store experience by creating offerings for customers to explore smart home-technology solutions, pairing them with free in-home advisory services. And its mobile app lets customers “scan to shop” from catalogs and curbside, or buy online and pick up merchandise in the store itself, smoothing the end-to-end journey for customers with the 24/7 tech support from its Geek Squad. Best Buy’s Totaltech support offer was compelling to customers—it launched with 200,000 memberships in 2018, which climbed to two million within a year.
• Beauty retailer Sephora emphasizes omnichannel personalization, relying on rich in-app messaging, personalized push notifications, and easy ways for customers to book in-person consultations. Its in-store technology is a powerful complement that allows employees to access customer favorites and suggest products they might try next. Its loyalty program also plays an important role. The efforts are already driving value for Sephora: data showed that customers visiting the retail website within 24 hours of visiting a store were three times more likely to make a purchase, and orders were 13 percent higher than for other customers.
• Nike takes an ecosystems view of omnichannel, extending the brand experience and offering customers an ever-growing platform of content, offers, and community interactions. Its SNKRS and Run Club apps, for example, facilitate in-person meetups, running groups, and events. It also has an app for delivering individual workouts and fitness programs, creating experiences that go far beyond shoe and apparel lines to meet customers in their day-to-day routines.

Learn more about our Retail  and Growth, Marketing & Sales  practices.

How has omnichannel been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Omnichannel rose during the COVID-19 pandemic as more consumers turned to e-commerce. Due to the increased demand for contactless shopping during the height of the pandemic, US grocery stores saw 20 to 30 percent of their business shift to online . Before the pandemic, e-commerce accounted for just 3 to 4 percent of total sales for grocers.

The shifts made during the pandemic are likely to persist . In the pandemic, people gravitated to curbside pickup, “buy online, pay in store” models, and self-checkout at higher rates than in the past. And recent research indicates these behaviors are “sticky”—indeed, about 70 percent of people who first tried self-checkout in the pandemic say they’ll use it again.

Introducing McKinsey Explainers : Direct answers to complex questions

What do customers want out of the omnichannel experience.

Customers want a compelling and personalized omnichannel user experience with robust digital capabilities, both online and offline. About 60 to 70 percent of consumers research and shop both in stores and online . More concretely, over one-third of Americans  made omnichannel features—think buying online and picking up in store or curbside—part of their regular shopping routines since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. Nearly two-thirds of those individuals plan to continue doing so. And younger buyers, like Gen Zers, embrace omnichannel enthusiastically; these customers don’t think in terms of traditional channel boundaries, and they expect brands and retailers to provide a seamless experience, no matter where they are.

In a sense, all customers are omnichannel customers now, McKinsey partner Tiffany Burns  explains in an episode of the McKinsey on Consumer and Retail podcast :

“Many retailers still think, ‘There are omnichannel interactions and store interactions, and I’m optimizing those two things separately. I have two different teams working on and thinking about those experiences.’ But as a consumer, when I go on the retailer’s website or app, I expect to see availability, a connection to what’s in the store, and a way to order things that I can pick up in store. I also expect to be able to stand in the aisle in the store and research a product. Today, consumers are figuring out workarounds to do all those things: they’re switching over from the app to Google, looking up the product, and searching for reviews.”

Organizations that make shopping a seamless omnichannel experience , or provide an app that helps customers find their way or see what’s in stock in the store, are already creating experiences that are a win for omnichannel customers .

Is omnichannel the same thing as phygital? And what is phygital, anyway?

Omnichannel is a business strategy, while “phygital” (a portmanteau that combines the word “physical” and “digital”) refers to the integration of the physical and digital worlds.

The term suggests a completely connected world that is both physical and digital at the same time . While fewer consumers are visiting brick-and-mortar stores and choosing to use e-commerce instead, more than 80 percent of retail sales still occur in a physical location . By 2030, the shopping experience will be highly personalized , and some activities may even take place in the metaverse . According to a recent survey, 80 percent of US adults  want personalization from retailers with multiple, personalized touchpoints , which can include a mobile app, digital displays, interactive screens, tech-enabled associates, and point of sale.

What about omnichannel vs multichannel?

When it comes to omnichannel vs multichannel, the key difference is the focus at the center of all efforts. Omnichannel is a customer-centric approach in which all channels are integrated so the customer has a unified and consistent experience whether they are at a physical store, using an app, or on a website. Multichannel, in contrast, tends to revolve around products instead of customers. It aims to inform as many people as possible about the product or brand, and the channels are not linked, so the customer experience is often different for each channel.

An interview with an insurance executive, Eric Gewirtzman of BOLT , makes that distinction relatable: “Insurance customers are already moving between various channels,” Gewirtzman says. “But there’s a big difference between being multichannel and being omnichannel. Just because carriers have, say, an exclusive agent channel, an independent agent channel, and a website, doesn’t mean they’re omnichannel. Too often, consumers will get a different experience and different results depending on which channel they use. This has to change. If there is no awareness between the channels, sales are lost.”

Learn more about our Financial Services practice.

What is omnichannel personalization?

Omnichannel personalization refers to the way organizations might tailor the customer experience for individuals across physical and digital channels. This includes multiple touchpoints that cater to the customer’s preferences pre-visit, during the visit, and post-visit. Customers receive products, offers, and communications that are unique to them as individuals.

Efforts to personalize the omnichannel market can have a big payoff. Indeed, getting omnichannel personalization right  could help companies increase revenue by 5 to 15 percent across the full customer base.

While companies recognize the power of omnichannel personalization, they may face roadblocks in implementing these efforts for a variety of reasons:

• Omnichannel personalization requires a lot of investment in technology  (both software and hardware). Personalizing physical spaces often starts from scratch because it requires enabling digital touchpoints such as screens, kiosks, or tablets for store associates, which may not exist.
• It is difficult to deliver a seamless customer experience and train employees. The front line needs training to understand and reinforce the customer journey.
• Traditionally, companies operate their digital and physical channels independently. Omnichannel personalization requires companies to rethink their organizational structure across both the digital and physical parts of the business .

These barriers, however, can be overcome. Five steps can help companies achieve omnichannel personalization :

• Define the omnichannel personalization strategy and learning agenda. It’s crucial to develop a clear view on key moments of influence in the customer journey , and then identify what outcomes are desired at each step of that journey. Finally, an organization needs to prioritize use cases to test, looking at their ability to deliver business benefits and value to customers.
• Address five digital touchpoints to activate personalized experiences in physical environments. Companies need to connect digital and physical footprints to drive omnichannel personalization, especially at touchpoints where these worlds converge. Five are particularly important: mobile apps, digital displays, interactive screens, tech-enabled associates, and point of sale.
• Use an omnichannel “ decisioning engine ” to deliver experiences and measure performance. This can help organizations identify, quickly and accurately, the next best action to take with each customer.
• Implement agile operating practices. Personalized marketing goes beyond mere technology; it requires new ways of working, and agile marketing teams  can help in this regard.
• Activate omnichannel personalization in the field. To bring all these elements together, a company’s sales force must be fully aligned and well trained. In-person teams could make your customer’s day, so frontline personnel need to support personalization efforts, understand their value, and use digital tools to deliver the complete experience.

What is omnichannel strategy?

An omnichannel strategy for marketing is a way of ensuring that your efforts drive tangible business value. Rather than rushing blindly into the space, or haphazardly approaching it, organizations should step back and think about underlying business value drivers. Excelling in omnichannel depends on a laser focus on value creation, looking at both strategic and customer priorities to craft the omnichannel strategy that will be most effective for their unique circumstances.

The most successful companies set their omnichannel strategy by leading with their strategic ambition and aspirations for customer experience. There are three primary omnichannel strategies :

• Commerce. This prioritizes cross-channel shopping experience both in store and online.
• Personalization. This strategy focuses on tailored, targeted, and relevant cross-channel engagement at scale.
• Ecosystem. Here, the strategy aims to provide rich cross-channel platforms integrated with consumer needs and lifestyles.

Learn more about our Growth, Marketing & Sales  practice.

What’s involved in omnichannel operations?

Organizations can build leading omnichannel operations , spanning a variety of areas. By strengthening the foundation of your omnichannel operations and focusing on strategy, structure, and processes, you could gain a performance edge.

Topics to explore include mastering omnichannel supply chains , creating a customer-centric supply chain strategy , designing the omnichannel distribution network of the future , reimagining the role of physical stores , and more.

What should I know about B2B omnichannel?

Omnichannel has become a permanent part of B2B sales , with e-commerce, face-to-face, and remote videoconference sales all a necessary part of buyers’ experience. According to a 2021 McKinsey survey of US-based B2B decision makers, 94 percent of respondents view today’s B2B omnichannel reality  as being as effective or more effective than before COVID-19. The findings also revealed that B2B customers regularly use ten or more channels to interact with suppliers, up from five in 2016.

B2B omnichannel efforts can be a path to grow an organization’s market share, but loyalty is up for grabs, with customers more willing than ever to switch suppliers for a better omnichannel experience. B2B decision makers use more channels than ever before to interact with suppliers, and being attuned to those channels will be important.

There are five must-dos for B2B companies seeking to retain customer loyalty and succeed in omnichannel:

• offer a performance guarantee (nearly 80 percent of B2B customers say it’s crucial)
• show product availability online
• enable purchases over any channel
• provide customer service in real time
• ensure the customer experience is consistent as buyers toggle between channels

While B2C omnichannel efforts might be the first to spring to mind, omnichannel experience is crucial to giving all customers a better and more seamless journey.

For more in-depth exploration of these topics, see McKinsey’s insights on marketing and sales —and check out omnichannel-related job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

Articles referenced include:

• “ The new B2B growth equation ,” February 23, 2022, Arun Arora , Liz Harrison , Max Magni, Candace Lun Plotkin , and Jennifer Stanley
• “ Omnichannel: The path to value ,” April 30, 2021, Holly Briedis, Brian Gregg , Kevin Heidenreich, and Wei Wei Liu
• “ Omnichannel shopping in 2030 ,” April 9, 2021, Praveen Adhi , Eric Hazan , Sajal Kohli , and Kelsey Robinson
• “ Redefine the omnichannel approach: Focus on what truly matters ,” June 22, 2020, Jorge Amar , Raelyn Jacobson , Becca Kleinstein, and Allison Shi
• “ The end of shopping’s boundaries: Omnichannel personalization ,” February 10, 2020, Gal Gitter, Meg Raymond, Kelsey Robinson , and Jamie Wilkie

Want to know more about omnichannel marketing?

Related articles.

Omnichannel: The path to value

The new B2B growth equation

What is the metaverse?

Security Alert May 17, 2024

Worldwide caution, update may 10, 2024, information for u.s. citizens in the middle east.

• Travel Advisories |
• Contact Us |
• MyTravelGov |

Find U.S. Embassies & Consulates

Travel.state.gov, congressional liaison, special issuance agency, u.s. passports, international travel, intercountry adoption, international parental child abduction, records and authentications, popular links, travel advisories, mytravelgov, stay connected, legal resources, legal information, info for u.s. law enforcement, replace or certify documents.

Get a Passport

Renew or Replace a Passport

Get My Passport Fast

Prepare to Apply

Passport Help

Legal Matters

How to Get my U.S. Passport Fast

Share this page:

Make an Appointment at a Passport Agency

Life-or-Death Emergencies

Courier and Expeditor Companies

Our passport agencies and centers :

• Process all applications we receive from acceptance facilities and by mail, and
• Serve customers by appointment only who have urgent travel to a foreign country in the next 14 calendar days, or need a foreign visa in the next 28 calendar days

The U.S. Department of State runs each passport agency and center. An agency and center is different than acceptance facilities which may include post offices, libraries, and local government offices.

Avoid the stress of needing to visit a passport agency or center for urgent travel. Apply early at an  acceptance facility  or  renew by mail .

Steps to Make an Appointment for Urgent Travel

I have not yet applied.

Follow these steps to make an appointment:

• Go to our  Online Passport Appointment System .
• Enter information about your travel plans to see if you qualify for an appointment. You may make an appointment for up to seven members of your household.
• Enter your email address. We will email you a code which you must enter to continue making an appointment. Check your junk or spam folder if you do not see the code in your inbox.
• Enter your mobile phone number. We will send you a text message with another code you must enter to continue making an appointment.
• Complete the process of scheduling your appointment. 
• Check your email for a message confirming the details of your appointment. The system will hold your appointment for 15 minutes. If you do not confirm your appointment within 15 minutes, you will need to start over.
• If you need to cancel or change the appointment, click the link in the confirmation email to get information about your appointment. 

I have already applied

• Call  1-877-487-2778  from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Mondays through Fridays, or on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Se habla español. 

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call  1-888-874-7793  for TDD/TTY teletype services. 

• We will provide you unique information that we will check on the day of your appointment to confirm your appointment is legitimate. If you are not the appointment holder, the passport agency or center will not be able to see you.
• If you need to cancel or change your appointment, please call us. We will give your appointment to a new customer calling to make an appointment. You cannot transfer your appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i know which location is processing my application and has my documents.

The first two digits of your nine-digit passport application locator number allow you to know which agency or center is working on your application. You can find your application locator number by checking our Online Passport Status System . 

How and when should I contact a passport agency or center by mail?

You can find an agency or center's mailing address on each agency or center webpage. You can contact our locations by mail if:

We sent you a letter : If we need more information to process your application , we will send you a letter in the mail. Send the information to the full mailing address in Sterling, VA listed on your letter. Do not send information to the agency’s physical address.

Map of Passport Office Locations

Make an appointment at a passport agency or center.

We have two types of appointments: Life-or-Death Emergency Service and Urgent Travel Service . You cannot walk-in. 

Not Yet Applied : Make an appointment online

Already Applied : Call  1-877-487-2778 . Se habla español.

External Link

You are about to leave travel.state.gov for an external website that is not maintained by the U.S. Department of State.

Links to external websites are provided as a convenience and should not be construed as an endorsement by the U.S. Department of State of the views or products contained therein. If you wish to remain on travel.state.gov, click the "cancel" message.

You are about to visit: